Joel Kinnaman talks ‘Robocop’ reboot: ‘We did not try to remake the movie’

Joel Kinnaman has spoken about the forthcoming RoboCop reboot and has insisted that they have not tried to simply “remake” the original.

RoboCop is a remake of the classic 1987 sci-fi film of the same name and sees The Killing star Kinnaman take on the role of Alex Murphy, first made famous by Peter Weller. The reboot’s bumper cast also includes Samuel L Jackson, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Abbie Cornish and Jackie Earle Haley.

Speaking to SFX about the film, he said: “When I first heard there was gonna be a RoboCop remake, I thought, ‘Maybe I’ll see that somewhere down the line, but it’s nothing I’m interested in pursuing myself’. Then when I heard it was José Padilha that was gonna direct it, I became very interested. José has fought very hard and succeeded in making something that has a point of view, and a political and philosophical perspective.”

He added: “It’s a great responsibility. Especially in a world where there’s a lot of remakes being made for cynical economic reasons. But having José as a director washed away those fears. The biggest respect you can pay to the original is to acknowledge it as a very intelligent movie, and try to make something intelligent to follow it up with, and not just replay old catchphrases. We kept one or two as a wink to the fans, but we did not try to remake the movie.”

The RoboCop reboot was shot by Brazilian director Padilha last year (2012) in Toronto and Detroit on an estimated budget of $120 million (£76 million) – more than nine times the $13 million (£8 million) cost of the original film. It opens in UK cinemas on February 7, 2014.